


Fall Asleep My Child

by Ella (ellabellachicketychella)



Series: why do the stars shine so bright [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Dreams, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Nightmares, Pidge | Katie Holt is a Mess, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27273253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellabellachicketychella/pseuds/Ella
Summary: Dreams. The wishes or mess that your brain makes up when they're sleeping. Sometimes excellent and funny, making you smile for days after having the dream. Sometimes nightmares. Everyone on the castle has nightmares, they've been through a lot.Then Lance is trapped in his dreams and they're not the good kind.---“Be careful,” Keith said with a smile.“Careful is my middle name.”"Considering your middle name is Charles you need to be extra careful."
Relationships: Allura & Coran & Hunk & Keith & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro, Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: why do the stars shine so bright [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1979423
Comments: 6
Kudos: 165





	Fall Asleep My Child

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warning/Trigger Warning: There is blood, an the blood is described in detail and people die (in dreams) please be careful and please enjoy.

“Allura? Why is your hair braided? Can anyone here even braid?” Hunk said, one morning as Lance rubbed his eyes holding his dressing gown around him as Allura smiled brightly, running a hand over the top of her braid.

“Oh! Lance did it.” Allura said, sending Lance a bright smile. “What do you call what we did—”

“A sleepover?” Lance said blankly, cringing slightly as he shoveled food goo into his mouth. 

Keith looked up at him, before looking away with an eye roll. Allura ran a hand over her braid again smiling brighter before laughing softly. “Yeah, that’s it. And Lance did my hair, I’d say he did it very well.”

“The braids crooked,” Keith deadpanned.

“On today's round of why is Keith in a bad mood,” Lance said in his best game-show voice, drumming on the table. “Everyone take your guesses. Pidge.”

“He woke up!” Pidge supplied cheerfully, picking up her and Hunk’s bowls and heading off to the kitchen. “That’s normally when his days go wrong.”

“Hunk?”

“Uh… food goo,” Hunk said, scowling at Keith’s bowl. “He hates it.”

“I’m right here. You could just ask me,” Keith deadpanned and Lance shook his head. “Okay then.”

He looked at Shiro who still looked half asleep. “Shiro. Why is Keith mad today?”

“He’s breathing,” Shiro took a swig of his coffee, which seemed nice to call coffee. Hunk and him and dubbed it brown sludge which gave you some energy. Shiro looked at Keith, who was still scowling before laughing. 

When Hunk and him looked at Shiro for an answer Shiro shook his head.

“Allura!” Lance said, “Why do you think Keith is mad?”

“Because you’re asking everyone why he’s mad?” Allura provided and Keith snorted at that before scowling again. “Stop pestering Keith,” Allura sighed, sounding a shocking amount like Veronica or his mama. 

“Yeah Lance,” Keith teased, “Stop pestering me.”

“Keith.” Shiro said.

“Sorry,” Keith muttered before passing his bowl, which wasn’t quite empty to Hunk. “Do you want it?”

Hunk responded by eating and Keith hummed, before standing up and Lance swore something cracked. “I’m going to the deck.”

Lance stood up from his seat, “Me too.”

Keith groaned, “Really?”

“Yup.”

“Shiro, don’t let him.”

“I’m not his dad,” Shiro said, looking between Lance and Keith. 

“You’re his space-Dad!” Pidge yelled from the kitchen and everyone broke out into laughter as Pidge came back, taking Hunk’s second bowl off him and darting back to the kitchen. Cackling as she went. “Space-Dad,” she said again and Shiro scowled.

Before looking at his “children” and sighing. “If this is what kids are like, I do not want them.”

“You literally adopted the angsty, emoest child ever,” Lance gestured to Keith who scowled at him. “We are like angels compared to him.”

Shiro looked at Lance, his face deadpanned and looking impossibly tired. “At least Keith listens to me. You two are chaotic! You answer to no one. And by you I mean you and Pidge when you’re together. Hunk is a good child.”

Hunk beamed at that and Lance laughed, even Keith snorted (very gracefully). Shiro sighed and Lance felt like it was directed at him. “This is why you and Pidge never go on missions together. It would be chaos.”

Pidge cackled from the kitchen before running back out and looking at Lance. No, no, no, they had made a pact to keep this secret. She grinned and Lance went to silence her, by tackling her. When Keith grabbed the back of his shirt.

He was jerked back and Lance tried to grab Pidge again, but Keith had his grip and Lance couldn’t shake that off as much as he tried.

“So, Hunk split off from Lance and I, and we were supposed to be on lookout. But we instead played Pong on the side of the warehouse! I coded it and he projected it, it worked really nicely.”

Shiro looked at Lance before gesturing to the pair of them. “This is why you don’t go on missions together!” He sighed before slumping over the table. “I don’t want children. Are they all like you?”

“If they’re fighting in an intergalactic war,” Lance said, “Sure.”

“Why does Adam want kids?” Shiro muttered, so quietly that Lance wasn’t sure he heard it. He turned around to Keith who had let go of his shirt (finally) and who was smiling into his hand. 

Keith removed his hand, his face creepily blank. The only sign that he had smiled at any point was the sparkling in his eyes, and even then it was pretty hard to see. “I heard that,” Keith grinned, before looking at Lance. “I’m pretty sure he did too.”

Lance grinned at Shiro who sat up straighter, before going to stand up. Keith responded by bolting down the hallway and Lance followed after him. “Come back here you little shits!” Shiro called.

They did not go back there, but they were little shits. Even when they couldn’t hear Shiro’s footsteps they ran, before stumbling into the training deck. Laughing and wheezing for breath.

Instead of doing something smart, Lance just fell onto the white and black floor. Laughing as he shook from said laughter. Keith was laughing next to him. Lying on his back, looking a bit like a turtle as he grinned so wide Lance wasn’t sure how his cheeks didn’t split in two.

Eventually their laughter died down, into snickers and Keith rolled over onto his side so he was looking at Lance.

“Shiro’s totally gonna make one of us go on the next mission with him,” Keith was still smiling widely and something about that did something to Lance. “It’s probably going to be me.”

“Why?”

“I listen to him.”

“I listen to him too!” Lance defended, sitting up and crossing his arms. “I do!” He said at Keith’s skeptical look. “I listen to him, just… when it suits me. I haven’t been on a solo mission with him, of course I’d listen to him.”

Keith just raised an eyebrow and Lance swiped at him. He rolled away before launching himself at Lance and landing on top of him.

“Why do we keep ending up like this?” Lance asked. “It’s not even that effective of a way to hold someone down.”

“Who said I’m trying to hold you down?”

“Well we’re fighting! So I’m assuming the goal is to stop me from moving, and I can move. I can move my legs and my arms, you didn’t even pin those down so I’m like an octopus. There are way more effective ways to beat me in a fight that don’t look weird. Imagine if someone walked in right now?”

Lance waved his arms, to prove that he could be an octopus. “Now get off me,” he pushed at Keith’s chest and Keith just raised an eyebrow.

“I have never met someone as dense as you,” Keith said, before obliging and getting up off Lance and holding out his hand, which Lance took and Keith pulled him up. “Have you ever dated before?”

“I have, thank you very much.” Lance replied, tersely. Before pushing at Keith’s shoulder. “Several people.”

“Were they real or fake?”

“Real!” Lance yelled before crossing his arms and glaring at Keith. “You’re horrible.”

Keith actually facepalmed. “You are so dense! It’s amazing how you’ve dated anyone.”

“I’m not dumb.”

“Correct, but being dumb and dense are two completely different things,” Keith sighed before shrugging off his jacket and putting it to the side. “How much do you know about hand-to-hand?”

“Uh… enough?” Lance said, walking backwards and Keith grabbed the front of his jacket and took that off, throwing it next to the red and yellow monstrosity of a jacket. “Keith. I do not want to fight.”

“If we train now we don’t have to do the team one later. Everyone thinks we need to work on our team work anyway.”

“Our team work is excellent.”

“I am aware.” Keith held his fists up in front of him and Lance took a few more steps back. “But no one else seems to think so.”

“I caught you out of mid-air! That requires so much teamwork,” Lance sighed, taking a few more steps back as Keith advanced. “You can’t just beat me up until I learn hand-to-hand.”

“Well I’m going to,” Keith responded, with a cheeky smile. “So either get good or get bruised.”

“I’d like to do neither of those options,” Lance met a wall and Keith grinned, his fists actually tightening into balls before he threw his fist forward and Lance ducked.

Fine. Lance did gymnastics for five years, he wasn’t pinned to the wall. Keith just thought that, another punch came his direction and Lance side-stepped it before jumping. Planting his feet on the wall and soaring over Keith.

He landed behind him, on his feet and was satisfied when Keith was just staring at him, his mouth open and gaping like he was a fish. Lance smiled before getting into his own fighting stance.

“Huh?”

“I did gymnastics for five years,” Lance laughed. “I won so many competitions, I’ll show you the trophies and stuff when we get home.”

“So I’m meeting your family then?”

He panicked for a second before nodding, ducking under one of Keith’s lazy punched and kicking his leg out to meet his shin. Keith yelped before staggering back a little bit, he looked down at his shin.

And growled. He growled.

If Keith was trying to hide his Galra situation this was not going well for him. He kicked up, hitting Lance in the side. Who grabbed Keith’s ankle and lifted up until Keith hit the ground with a crash.

Lance grinned, before there was a grip on his leg and Lance also crashed to the floor. Keith went to hold him down but Lance rolled away, before standing up and moving backwards to avoid Keith completely.

Keith sighed and stood up. “You can’t just keep running away.”

“Bet?” Lance responded, circling Keith who also circled him. Their eyes trained on the other’s, looking for the slightest sign that they were going to move. So when Keith moved forward with a kick Lance blocked it.

Meeting with his own kick which got Keith in the side who winced and retreated a little bit, his eyes scanning again. For more movement.

“Your fighting style is all over the place.”

“And yours is too aggressive,” Lance responded. Circling Keith, feeling a bit like a shark. Circling his pray before he ate him. Wait, no, that sounded wrong. That sounded so wrong. Lance crinkled up his nose. 

Keith helped out his statement by jumping forward, swinging and kicking, all of which Lance knew how to block. Keith was moving quickly, and Lance was moving just as quickly. Blocking, with thumps.

Sure, his arms would probably be bruised tomorrow, but he was actually holding his own against Keith. Keith, the one everyone dubbed the best fighter out of the actual team, even better than Shiro in some aspects.

_Block. Block. Thunk. Hit. Block. Block. Thunk. Hit_

They continued like that for a while, neither of them getting the upper hand and the only thing they seemed to accomplish was tiring themselves out. So the hits became sloppier and the blocking became more half-hearted, almost lazy as they tried to win so they could finally get a chance to breathe.

There was an opening, Keith had left his right side unprotected as he swung with his left leg. Hitting Lance in the side. Who grunted, but grabbed Keith’s right arm. Before twisting it behind his back.

Keith toppled and Lance landed on top of him. Placing his knee into Keith’s back while twisting his arm in a way that couldn’t have been comfortable. Lance stayed there, as the pair of them struggled to breathe.

“How the fuck?”

“You left your right side unprotected,” Lance clarified between gasping breaths. “So I grabbed your arm.”

“You can let go now.”

“Yield.”

Keith didn’t say anything and Lance gave a small tug on his arm. “Fine! I’m yielding!” Keith yelled and Lance let go of his arm and got his knee off of Keith’s back. 

“Did I hurt you?”

“Nah,” Keith stretched out his arm. “Just stretched something,” he bent his arm back and forth before nodding at it. Like somehow he was satisfied with how his arm was moving. Keith looked up and must’ve seen the guilt on Lance’s face. “Lance, it’s fine. Roll you your sleeves.”

He did, to reveal his arms which had red marks all over them. And he felt less bad about the whole bending Keith’s arm thing. Keith just smiled, his bangs falling into his face so Lance couldn’t see his eyes. 

“You did a good job Sharpshooter,” Keith grinned, “For someone who claims they can’t do hand-to-hand you kicked my ass.”

Lance rolled his eyes before standing up, offering his hand to Keith who took it and Lance pulled him up.

“You’re a nerd.”

* * *

_Arrorró mi niño, arrorró mi amor, arrorró pedazo, de mi corazón._

_Este niño lindo, que nació de día, quiere que lo lleven, a la dulcería._

_Este niño lindo, que nació de noche, quiere que lo lleven, a pasear en coche._

_Duérmete mi niño, duérmete mi amor, duérmete pedazo, de mi corazón._

_Duerme hijo mío, lo necesitarás._

Lance sat up in his bed. The last line of the lullaby wasn’t supposed to be there, it was a whisper, not a song. Why did he need to rest? What was going to happen? His hands were shaking. He sighed, flopping back onto his bed.

What was with the Spanish singing?

* * *

As Keith had predicted the day before, Lance was made to go on the mission with Shiro. After Keith threatened to tell the group, “why I need even more therapy”, Shiro had gone bright red and pointed at Lance.

“Your helmet is crooked,” Keith said, walking up to Lance and pulling it down. Lance gave a thumbs-up as a thanks.

The mission was simple enough, the castle's shields needed a crystal to run them. The closest crystal that was viable was on what appeared to be a desolate planet. Apparently it had a cave and cave systems that basically expanded the entire planet.

It wasn’t actually desolate, things lived in the cave. Including semi-intelligent life forms, who Allura had contacted, she’d requested if they could go in there and take one crystal. The aliens who had a name Lance couldn’t pronounce agreed.

But they could only take in two people. Shiro was the obvious answer for one. Allura needed to stay at the insistence of Coran. (Allura was not happy about that.) Pidge was totally out of her depth in a cave with no technology to hack. Hunk didn’t like the dark and Keith was claustrophobic and had blackmail on Shiro.

That left Lance, who wasn’t scared of the dark, or claustrophobic and couldn’t man the castle. If Shiro was disappointed with the choice he didn’t show it, instead smiling brightly and ruffling Lance’s hair.

“What I say goes,” he’d said, grinning as Lance tried to fight him off. “If I tell you to duck, you duck and if I tell you to run, you run.” Lance had agreed, mainly because he wanted Shiro to stop ruffling his hair.

So they’re preparing for that. Shiro and Lance are going in, in Blue, because something about there being a waterfall covering the entrance they’re going in. Also, because everyone trusts Blue’s bond with Lance rather than Black’s with Shiro.

Black lets Shiro get too close to death, Blue is… not that much better, but a bit better at least.

“Be careful,” Keith said with a smile. Lance doesn’t know when this tradition started but he’s not mad about it.

“Careful is my middle name.”

“You can’t be too careful,” Keith said. “Considering your middle name is Charles you need to be extra careful. Now I’m going to yell at Shiro.” He pulled Lance’s helmet down on his head and Lance swatted him away.

Keith walked off and up to Shiro. “If he as much gets injured, I am going to tell everyone every single secret I know about you.”

“Keith.”

“Kidding!” Keith said, walking away, before looking over his shoulder. “Unless?”

“Go away you punk,” Shiro laughed and Keith flipped him off as he walked out of the hangar. Shiro looked at Lance, a fond smile on his face. “If it isn’t the other punk.”

Lance rolled his eyes and Pidge’s voice came through their helmets. _“Don’t roll your eyes at Dad!”_

Blue’s jaw opened resting on the ground and Lance stepped in, followed by Shiro as there was a purr that seemed to shake her. 

“Hey girl,” Lance smiled, putting a hand on the side of her and Blue purred at the contact. “Ready to have some fun?”

_Your fun is never fun for me._ Blue responded, almost softly, maternally. _Yes my child, I’m ready for your shenanigans._

Lance stood inside the cockpit, hands on the controls as Blue seemed to whine at him. _I don’t want to leave, it’s warm._ But still she roared to life as Shiro held onto the back of Lance’s seat.

“We should’ve taken Black,” he mumbled and Lance glared at him. “Sorry, Black isn’t this difficult.”

“She’s not being difficult,” Lance defended, “You’re being annoying.”

_You must work on your insults my child._

Blue was steady, even when they broke the atmosphere, the cockpit heating up slightly more than usual, but not by much. When they landed Lance brought up the map of where he was supposed to be going.

The planet itself was beautiful, with black jagged stone making up every surface. The only things that weren’t black stone were the flecks of gems in the stone, gems which were every colour Lance could imagine.

A pale pink was the colour of the sky, the colour of fairy floss or the colour of valentines day or the colour of Allura’s marks. Lance stared at the sky until Shiro coughed and Lance snapped out of it, before he got distracted with a gem again.

_Focus._ Blue said and Lance nodded to himself.

He scanned around for this waterfall before his eyes settled on something moving and Blue started walking over to it, shaking the ground a little as she did. The waterfall was tiny, Blue wouldn’t be able to fit in there.

Lance sighed, looking at Shiro who also nodded.

Climbing out of Blue they landed on the ground, the jagged rock seemed to be scraping on the coloured coating of their armour. Lance approached the waterfall, Shiro and him could get past it. Blue couldn’t.

“Pigeon, Pigeon Holt, come in,” Lance said.

_“Oh,”_ there was some frantic crunching and Hunk snickering in the background. _“Sup, what do ya need?”_

“The gap behind the waterfall can’t fit Blue, it wouldn’t even fit Green.”

_“Oh shit,”_ there was more frantic crunching and some rustling, then some typing. _“Looks like you just have to go in guys. It’s the only entrance that leads to the crystal halls.”_

Shiro nodded, walking forwards and activating his shield. Holding it above his head and Lance copied. Holding his shield above his head and walking underneath the waterfall, hearing the pitter-patter against his shield.

When he locked up Lance forgot how to breathe, the rocks in here were hues of rainbow. Colours blending into each other to make gradients while bright gem sparkled out against the rainbow of the rocks. It was just so… beautiful.

A pond to the left of them was reflecting the rainbow rocks, and Lance forgot how to speak as Shiro stood next to him. Just staring at the brightness and the beauty of it all, nothing about here seemed dark or claustrophobic.

  
  


The gems provided lights of colours as varied as the ones of the gems. The cavern extended in what must have been at least the same size as the living area on the castle. Judging by the lack of Pidge chattering she had also forgotten how to speak.

It was just… so beautiful and vivid and bright.

Shiro was the first to snap out of it, tapping Lance on the shoulder who jumped but also snapped out of it. Bringing up his map, Lance sighed. According to the map they had a long, long walk ahead of them. What translated to be two miles.

_“Tally-ho! Better get going!”_ Pidge said into the comms.

“Pidge.” Shiro said in a stern voice and Pidge muttered an apology.

“It’s cool though, it’s so rainbow.”

“Mood,” Shiro cracked his knuckles. Lance grabbed his bayard, holding it in his hand, there was no way that this would happen without any obstacles. 

So they started down the pastel-rainbow hallway. Using the lights of the gems embedded into the walls to guide them. Keith and Pidge were arguing about something in the background, but Lance had decided to ignore them.

_“What do you mean Ariana Grande wasn’t a pioneer?”_ Keith said, _“Have you ever listened to ‘Thank U Next’? It revolutionised the break-up genre from being bitter into… thankful?”_

_“Her music is basic at best,”_ Pidge responded and judging by the noise of frustration that Keith made he did not believe that. _“You could say that Taylor Swift redefined success as a musician and ‘Shake It Off’ is a bop.”_

_“Taylor Swift’s music is basic!”_

Shiro sighed and the pair of them went quiet for a moment before there was struggling noises and Keith shrieked. _“Don’t pull my hair you gremlin! Get off! Shiro!”_

“Don’t make me come back there,” Shiro snapped. “I will get Lance to fly his lion back and then you two can do this mission.”

They went quiet and stayed quiet, and Lance couldn’t help but relax at the silence. The only sounds were the gentle trickling of water and the sound of footsteps again the polished looking stone.

Slowly the frequency of the glowing gems lessened. From almost being blindingly bright to a few ominous lights shining, providing basically no lights. As their helmets tried to adjust, and seemed to have lots of trouble doing that.

“Pidge, are our helmets glitching out?” Lance asked. There was some static.

_“Oh… helmets— cut… off,”_ Pidge’s voice came through the comms, slightly frantic and Shiro paused. Turning around, looking down the long hallway, they’d walked all this way. There was no way they could turn around without the gem.

The castle needed that gem, they needed that gem.

Lance brought up his gauntlet, a light shining out of it as they walked. The smoothed rainbow rock turned into a grey colour. With no crystals, the only thing they had to guide them was the light that Lance had.

Then the hallway stopped, and was replaced by a cavern. A deep long, wide cavern, which seemed to expand in every direction impossibly big so that the light didn’t nearly reach anything apart from the emptiness.

Shiro took a deep breath before firing up his light too and spinning around with it. The hallway hadn’t disappeared due to some weird technology situation so they had that going for them.

Something moved and Lance spun around, seeing nothing. “Shiro… I don’t like this.”

“Me neither.”

Again, out of the corner of Lance’s eyes something moved and he shone his light at it. To be met with two beady eyes, bright green eyes and Lance screamed. Clutching at Shiro. Shiro jumped around and gasped.

“Dios mío! Nosotros vamos a morir!” Lance yelled and Shiro clamped a gloved hand over his mouth. Eventually Lance stopped panicking at the green eyes staring at them and stumbled back. Shiro moving in front of him, almost unconsciously.

Shiro’s hand glowed and then there was light. It was so blinding for a second that everything went white and Lance’s eyes watered as his helmet tried to adjust to the lighting quickly.

In front of them was a… snake, that was the only way he could describe it. A long snake that was coiled around them without either of them knowing the whole time. The snake was grey, with bits of gems embedded into their scales. 

This was probably a bad time to mention that Lance hated snakes. “Odio las serpientes,” he muttered, and quietly. Shiro didn’t even glance back and Lance couldn’t blame him for that.

“We’re fine Lance.”

“I hate snakes!” Lance squeaked, hiding behind Shiro more. “I hate them!” He shuddered and Shiro sighed.

The snake… laughed? A deep, loud, rumbling sound erupted through the room, almost shaking the ground and bits of rock fell. Shiro grabbed onto Lance, scanning the roof for anything that might fall and hit them.

When nothing fell Shiro let go of Lance. His eyes scanned everywhere, as Lance couldn’t tear his own eyes off of the neon green of the snake. Lance glanced over to the hallway, and the snake was blocking the hallway exit.

The hallway exit which was their only escape.

Lance gulped.

“Hello,” came the booming voice and again bits of dust seemed to rain down on them. “I am Odziz, defender of the crystals.”

Why did it have to be a snake? Why not a bunny, or a space-hippo, or even a shark. Lance liked sharks, he didn’t like snakes. Not a bit and now they were going to die here. Was there always this little amount of air here?

“Lance,” Shiro said slowly and carefully. “I need you to breathe, okay? I’m not going to let you get hurt.”

Nodding despite the fact that Shiro couldn’t see him Lance started breathing, counting to three between breaths. He was fine. He was fine. If he wasn’t find Shiro would figure something out. Shiro was smart, most of the time, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to Lance.

He was okay.

He was okay.

“I sense fear in the young one,” Odziz said, almost laughing. “Why is that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Shiro snapped. “Give us the crystal and let us go. We mean you no harm.”

“I know,” Odziz hummed. “I know everything about you, both of you. Takashi Isamu Shirogane. Lance Charles McClain. Everything you’ve ever wanted, everything inner thought that was supposed to be private.”

A beat.

“Your deepest fears,” Odziz said again, in the low deep voice that only a space-snake could have. A voice so low it almost just sounded like thunder back at home. “Everything. Your pasts, your lives.”

A tail whipped past them, stopping and brushing Shiro’s cheek who didn’t even flinch.

“Oh Takashi, you just want Adam. Adam Wright isn’t it? What a lovely name, but didn’t he say that he wouldn’t be there when you came back?” Odziz was almost teasing now, and Lance hated it. “He won’t. You know he won’t.”

If Shiro felt like crying, or screaming he didn’t say anything about it. Just staring straight at the neon green eyes. Too calm almost, because Lance was about to start sobbing and shooting anything in his path to get out of here.

“Lance McClain.” It was two words, still it managed to make him cold all over, like he’d been dunked in ice-water or like his stomach had frozen over. His heart, his poor heart, if it beated much faster he’d actually have a heart attack soon. “You want to go home?” Something brushed the back of his neck and Lance jumped. “There will be no home to go to, no one wants you.”

“That’s not true,” Shiro spat. “Unless you get out of our faces and give us the gem I’m going to chop you up into little bits and give your meat to people in need.”

Lance felt frozen, in every aspect of the word.

He couldn’t say anything, or do anything, even think anything.

Odziz laughed again and that snapped Lance out of his frozenness. “Oh, you think it’s that easy? It is never that easy. You of all people Takashi should know that, you got the love of your life and you found out you had years to live…”

“What?” Lance’s voice broke. “Shiro what is he talking about?”

“You got engaged and you threw yourself up into space. You finally got free of the Galra and now you’re fighting them in a war you never wanted… you get another family, and now you’re going to watch them suffer… now you’re going to watch him suffer.”

Shiro spun around, his face pale and eyes wide. Looking at Lance.

“I’m fine?” Lance said looking past Shiro at the snake. “Is that the worst you can do? Freak people out, because yes, I am freaked but I’m not suffering all that much.”

Odziz opened their mouth, and a crystal fell out onto the floor in front of Shiro’s feet who bent down to pick it up. “No.” There was enough authority in that order by Odziz that Shiro stood back up. “The boy takes the crystal.”

Oh. He was the boy.

“No,” Shiro turned around, looking directly at Lance, putting his hands on Lance’s shoulders, his eyes honest and worried. “Lance, don’t take it, we don’t know what it does. We can just leave and go to another planet.”

Lance glanced at the blocked door. “I don’t think we can just leave Shiro… he gestured to the blocked off hallway. “I think we’re stuck here until I take it.”

“We can figure out something else Lance, it’s going to hurt you—”

“I’ve been hurt before,” Lance responded. “It’s fine,” he said with a smile he hoped was more convincing than how he felt.

Inside it was pure terror, his body was screaming to run, or fight, or even just scream. Everything felt cold, his hands and legs, and his torso. It all felt like ice blocks, like he’d never be warm again. A brain freeze, except everywhere and one-hundred times colder. Jumping into a cold body of water or being pushed into that water and not expecting it.

Cold.

Lance took a deep breath. “Look, what’s the worst that happens?”

“You die!” Shiro yelled.

“He won’t die,” Odziz added and Shiro swore under his breath. “He will not die, but death isn’t the worst fate. What are your dreams like Lance McClain? When you go to bed what dances around in your brain at night?”

Nightmares. 

Lance’s stomach swooped.

“Pick up the crystal,” Odziz hummed. Pushing Lance forward, with a tail, or something.

The crystal was shining and bright, the same colour as Odziz’s eyes, a neon green that stood out against the grey that surrounded them. 

His heart was thumping an impossible amount. Threatening to break out of his chest and fly away to never return if it beat much faster.

Lance crouched.

He’d be fine. Shiro promised nothing would happen to him, Odziz said that he wouldn’t die. He’d be fine. All he had to do was pick up this crystal… then endure whatever living Hell that he had to go through.

His hands hovered either side of the crystal.

Shiro wouldn’t let him die, no one on his team would let him die. All he had to do was pick up this damn crystal and then the castle would have shields for the foreseeable future. He’d be fine. He’d be okay.

His hands clasped either side of the crystal and he stood up.

He waited. 

Shiro waited.

Nothing happened. Not anything, not even a little pinch or a headache. The crystal didn’t even hurt to carry, it was light. 

Lance hummed and turned around to Shiro, giving him the crystal. “See, I’m fine!” He gestured to himself and Shiro looked skeptical and Lance felt skeptical.

“It can not be that easy.”

Odziz slithered away and the hallway was clear. They were good to leave.

Lance grinned. Thankful that for once it was that easy.

Then his legs gave out.

* * *

_Arrorró mi niño, arrorró mi amor, arrorró pedazo, de mi corazón._

_Este niño lindo, que nació de día, quiere que lo lleven, a la dulcería._

_Este niño lindo, que nació de noche, quiere que lo lleven, a pasear en coche._

_Duérmete mi niño, duérmete mi amor, duérmete pedazo, de mi corazón._

_Puedes hacerlo. Tu eres fuerte._

_Los sueños son hermosos y trágicos._

* * *

Lance knew that mullet anywhere. The young face of Keith, grimacing as Lance felt a burst of pain shoot through his nose. Falling onto the ground, the desks and chairs trying to break his fall and failing.

He landed on the linoleum floor that wasn’t cleaned enough. Slightly dusty, and an ugly pattern. White with black flicks and specks in it. It was the ugliest thing that Lance had ever seen.

Pain shot through his ribs as he looked up at Keith. His eyes were almost blank, but his lips were in a smile as pain shot through his side. Again and again.

Why couldn’t it stop? He just wanted it to stop. There was a crack, before Keith yanked on his hair. A cruelness in his eyes which Lance didn’t know children to have. “You’re a quota the academy needs to fill. Don’t forget that.”

And he was thrown backwards and in pain. Pain everywhere. Pain. That was all he knew, pain. He opened his mouth to speak, to scream, to do anything but nothing happened. So he laid there in pain.

Throbbing, aching, splitting. He knew pain. Joder, he knew pain.

* * *

“We need to wake him up!” A sharp, almost broken voice snapped. “He’s crying! He’s in pain! We need to wake him up!”

“We can’t,” a almost comical sounding voice said, comically British and male. “Number three risks brain damage if we wake him up.”

“He’s in pain!” The raspy voice from before snapped. “Can’t you hear him? He’s in pain! We need to stop this!”

“Keith,” an older, comforting voice said. “You need to calm down, yes, this isn’t good but—”

“This isn’t about me! It’s about Lance! He’s in pain, can’t you hear it? What sort of monsters let him go through this! We can wake him up.”

“Keith. You need to calm down.”

“You need some empathy!”

* * *

The grass was dull, the water was dull. Nothing was moving. The trees that Lance knew to be full of life and beautiful, the place he knew where birds sung songs and his family played was silent. Completely and utterly silent.

Nothing.

Not even the rustle of grass, or the promise of waves lapping against the shore. Lance stumbled forwards, tripping over his own feet and hitting the gravel path that he knew led to home.

“No, please!” He got back onto his feet and struggled forward. His feet hitting the gravel was the only noises, crunching underneath him. He ran forwards, around the bend he knew. This is where he played with Rachel, where he learnt how to ride a bike.

This was home.

He looked further, at his home. A blue painted building. The paint was chipping, the door was thrown off of it’s hinges, the railing at the front was falling apart. The garden that his family prided themselves in was overgrown and dying.

He’d gardened here. He’d thrown dirt at his family as his mother and father chastised him for being foolish. This was home.

Where were the people that made up home?

He stumbled up the stairs onto the porch, the first stair rotting and Lance went straight through it. For some reason he didn’t hesitate to keep going, he scrambled up the stairs and stumbled into the hallway.

Pictures and broken glass was on the floor. He staggered into the kitchen. It was always loud here, it was always loud here. Why wasn’t it loud anymore? Where was the noise, the yelling, the laughter? It was wrong.

This was all wrong.

“Mama! Papa!”

No response.

“Roni? Rachel? Luis? Marco?” He stumbled into the living room, the couch, rugs and curtains were torn apart, the TV had fallen off its hinges. “Sylvio? Nadia? Lisa?’

Silence.

Ear splitting and deafening silence. 

Lance stumbled onto his knees and hunched over himself. Hugging his stomach trying to replicate the warmth he once felt here, rather than the biting cold and silence which was looming around every corner.

Was this home?

Silent and cold?

And he knew it, in his very soul. They were gone, and they weren’t coming back. His family… they were dead.

So he cried and sobbed, because he’d never get a chance to see them again.

* * *

“Keith,” it was a younger voice this time, almost gentle. “We can’t wake him up. The crystal has a shield around it… I reckon whatever Lance is going through. He has to go through it… otherwise we don’t get the crystal.”

“Wake him up and find another crystal, Allura said there are more. He doesn’t need to go through this!” The angry, rasping voice from before yelled. “This isn’t fair!”

No one responded to him.

* * *

He was holding onto Keith, as his feet dangled dangerously. The abyss below him, everything and nothing. If Keith let him go he’d float away, he’d float away and that was it. That would be it.

“Keith! Pull me up.” Lance yelled, trying to keep the panic out of his voice, as his fingers began to slip. “Pull me up, please!”

Instead of being pulled up he was met with a cruel, cold laugh, so unlike Keith that Lance couldn’t imagine it being Keith who laughed like that. “Keith!” Lance yelled, “Enough playin’ around, help me up!”

“Why would I do that?” Keith laughed, “You’re dragging the team down anyway, you’re not quick enough, or smart enough, or strong enough. Someone else could pilot Blue and you know it, someone more capable. Someone who doesn’t come crying to me in the middle of the night because he’s homesick.”

Lance couldn’t help the tears that escaped his eyes. It was so unlike Keith… it didn’t make sense. “Boohoo, I miss my family, I’m Lance. Honestly pathetic,” he spat and Lance tried to pull himself up. Or drag Keith down with him. He didn’t care.

Space was below him. Nothing. He could float around… forever, he could float around until he starved. Then how would he get home to his family? He couldn’t die out here. “Keith! Help me up!’

“No way,” Keith cackled and Lance hadn’t ever heard a sound so cold and hateful in his entire life. “If you fall then we’re better off… it’s quieter, it’s nicer, we don’t have an idiot on our team.”

“You don’t think I’m an idiot,” Lance whispered. “This is all wrong.”

Keith’s grip on Lance’s hand slipped a little and Lance yelled. “Help me! Keith!”

His eyes were cold, as they looked straight into Lance’s eyes. “They won’t know, they won’t know that I dropped you. I’ll say it was an accident, and they won’t look into it further. Nobody here cares about you.”

The grip slipped a little more.

“Nobody cares if you fall forever. You left your family, at least you were wanted with them. Here you’re not wanted.”

“Keith,” Lance whispered. “This isn’t you. What’s happening?”

The expression on Keith’s face shattered for a moment, before letting go of Lance who yelled.

And he fell. Tumbling and twisting, and he tried to reach out to Keith. Why would Keith let him fall? The Keith he knew wouldn’t let him fall, he’d hold onto Lance until they both fell if he had to.

It didn’t make sense.

“Keith!” He yelled out again, not caring if his voice was breaking and if he was crying.

Then he fell.

* * *

“Keith… are you alright?”

“No! He’s yelled my name six times! I’m hurting him, I’m hurting him and I can’t do anything about it, he’s crying and I can’t do anything and I’m hurting him! I’m sick of hurting people!”

“You’re not hurting him,” a kind older voice said, “The Keith in his dreams is.”

“The Keith in his dreams are based on someone. Aren’t they?”

No one said anything after that.

* * *

_Maria McClain. John McClain. Veronica McClain. Marco McClain. Luis McClain. Lisa McClain-Gleeson. Naida McClain-Gleeson. Sylvio McClain-Gleeson. Isabella McClain._

_McClain, McClain, Sanchez, Sanchez._

Graves. Everywhere, as far as he could see. All with the names of people he loved on Earth, his family's names. His Mama, Papa, siblings, cousins, niece and nephew, Abuela, friends of the family.

Everyone.

The graves stretched so far. Expanding in every direction, and Lance hadn’t seen a name he didn’t recognise yet. He knew everyone. His fingers brushed over his mother’s grave.

_Maria McClain. A loving mother, wife, sister, grandmother, cook and friend._

“I’m sorry!” Lance cried, holding onto the grave, wishing it could be like holding onto his mother. “I could’ve— I should’ve been faster, I could’ve saved you!”

The silence told him that was true.

The silence told him that he’d failed the people he loved the most. The silence only broke for his tears and echoing sobs as he held his mother’s grave. Wishing he’d spent more time with her. Wishing he spent more time with his family. His family, the first and last people he’d loved. The people he abandoned for something greater. He should’ve know, he should’ve known.

He should’ve known his family was the greatest gift he had ever, or would ever receive.

So he cried harder, because it was too late to come across this realisation. Maybe if he’d been here with them. He wouldn’t be so alone. 

Alone, the word echoed around in his head, loud and almost ear-splitting as it bounced around his head. It hurt. Alone. He really was alone, for the first time in his life. Lance McClain was alone

* * *

“I can’t watch this!” A voice said loudly, “How can you watch this?”

“We need to measure his vitals.” A voice drawled, like the voice had already said this a thousand times. 

“He’s at his most vulnerable, and we’re just… watching him!”

“Keith! Come back! He’ll want you here when he wakes up!”

“I’m not watching one of my best friends suffer! We’re in a war, I already have to do that! I’m not going to subject myself to it, not when I don’t have to. Unless Lance is dying or waking up, don’t make me come in here.”

Then it goes quiet for a long time. It seems that most of the conversations go that way now.

* * *

Blood. Red, everywhere, every surface, was blood. And it was stemming from one source. Hunk. Lance staggered forward, looking down at his hands as he tried to stop the bleeding. Anything to stop the red from infecting every surface. Hunk’s clothes, his clothes.

It’s so red.

“Please!” Lance cried to no one, “Please, no! Get up,” he shook Hunk by the shoulders, who gasped and stared at Lance. A look in his eyes that Lance was unfamiliar on Hunk, but too familiar with other people.

Hatred.

It looks so weird on Hunk, like the expression wasn’t ever supposed to belong on his face and Lance paused for a second. Hunk doesn’t look at anyone like that, not the Galra, not even Lance when he ruined a recipe that Hunk had almost perfected.

Lance paused. “Hunk?”

“You could’ve done something!”

This doesn’t make sense.

“You let me die!”

Hunk wouldn’t say that. Lance looked at him, before back down at his hands covered in red. It’s not right. Something about this is off… he just doesn’t know what. Then Hunk goes limp and Lance forgets.

Before crying out to anyone to help them.

No one came.

* * *

“You’re saying he has to realise he’s dreaming to wake up?” A voice he recognised, from just before said. “So he has to realise his worst nightmares are just in his head?” The voice said a bit lighter this time. “Oh God.”

“Hunk, you need to breathe!” It’s the calm older voice, the reason among all the voices. “Lance is going to be okay!”

“What.” A frantic breath cut him off. “Whatifhedoesn’twakeup?”

“He will.” A female voice said, strong and… British? “Lance is strong. We mustn’t forget that.”

* * *

“Pidge!” Lance yelled, before Pidge went down. Hitting the floor with a thump and Lance knew, deep down in the twisting depths of his heart that her getting up again was very unlikely. 

He scrambled forward, shooting the sentry through the chest and landing at her side, as blood spouted everywhere. Across their armour and across Lance’s hands as he tried to stop the bleeding.

Red, everywhere, every surface, was blood.

Lance paused. Why did this feel familiar? Before realising that he needed to focus on trying to keep Pidge alive. Her eyes fluttered open and closed as she looked up at the night sky. “Dad always told me I’d see the stars.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Lance whispered. “Please, don’t talk like that.”

“He told me that I’d bring the stars home to him and Mom. I don’t think I’ll be bringing much of anything home,” Pidge laughed bitterly before gasping and holding her side. “Maybe some ashes.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Mom’s lost three family members to space… geez, I’d hate space too if I were her,” Pidge looked up and Lance scrambled for a bandage. Anything, anything to keep her alive. The little sister he never wanted, or needed, but now he had.

“Lance,” Pidge said softly, and in that moment Lance was reminded of how small Pidge was. She was fourteen, she’d barely lived her life, she’d barely gotten a chance to do anything but experience pain over the last while. “Bring my Mom the stars? Please.”

“I will,” Lance cried and Pidge was crying too so it was okay. “I promise.”

“Thank you,” Pidge whispered and she stared up at the sky unblinkingly.

Lance froze, before sobbing.

* * *

There was the sound of something being dragged against the ground. “I said I wouldn’t come back in here unless you woke up or died, and I am a liar.”

A sigh and then a rustling of clothes. “Look, I need you to wake up dipshit. Because it’s quiet and it’s only been a few hours, the awkward silences are killing us all and Pidge is going to snap soon and she’s going to go on a homicidal rampage.”

More rustling of clothes and a hand on his wrist. “Please, please, wake up. I— I care about you Lance… we all do, and I’m sorry I haven’t said it enough and I’m sorry I haven’t shown you that. We’re all sorry for that.”

Then a sniff and a small sound, like a wounded animal. “I need you awake. You’re dreaming Lance. You’re dreaming and you need to realise that, and I know you can’t hear me and talking to a wall would be just as effective it’s just that—”

Another sniff and a few more small sounds as clothes rustles. “Wake up. Or else I’m going to throw you out of the airlock. I need you to wake up, sharpshooter.”

* * *

Blood. Everywhere, for some reason. Splattering against the wall. Leading to a Keith, sitting on the wall, his head leaning against the said wall as blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. He made eye contact with Lance and laughed shortly.

“Keith!”

“Hey,” Keith responded with a smile. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Lance was scrambling, for something, anything to do instead of watching one of his friends bleeding out and felt dread in his stomach. Why was this familiar? This was too familiar, like Groundhog day or something.

“Hi,” Lance said and it was strained and more of a sob than a word. 

“Hey, it’s okay… It’s okay. We all knew it was going to be me anyway.”

“What?”

Keith shrugged, before groaning and holding his side. Where there was a sword going straight through him and embedded into the wall behind him. Blood was everywhere, spilling on everything, even things Lance didn’t know existed in the purple Galra ship.

“I’m sorry,” he wheezed. “I don’t want to go Sharpshooter.”

Sharpshooter.

_I need you to wake up, sharpshooter._

Keith grabbed onto Lance’s arm, his eyes pleading. “You could’ve done something.”

_I need you to wake up, sharpshooter._

And Keith wouldn’t ever say that, he’s stubborn and even if Lance put the sword there he wouldn’t blame Lance. Keith wouldn’t blame Lance for anything that happened to him. Nothing.

_I need you to wake up, sharpshooter._

Wake up… to wake up, you have to be sleeping. Lance was asleep, this wasn’t real. He gasped and then… nothing.

* * *

_Arrorró mi niño, arrorró mi amor, arrorró pedazo, de mi corazón._

_Este niño lindo, que nació de día, quiere que lo lleven, a la dulcería._

_Este niño lindo, que nació de noche, quiere que lo lleven, a pasear en coche._

_Duérmete mi niño, duérmete mi amor, duérmete pedazo, de mi corazón._

_Despierta hijo, tenemos un universo que proteger._

* * *

Lance woke up, his entire body jumping up as his mind tried to catch up. There was a faint beeping, something crashing to the floor and then warmth as arms were thrown around his neck. Green, a green thing did this.

“Pidge?” 

“You’re awake!” Pidge said, her eyes shining and Lance couldn’t tell if it was a good thing, or a bad thing, but it felt more like… a thing. She scurried over to a computer, pressing a button. “Lance is awake!” She yelled so loudly Lance winced. “This is not a drill! Lance Sleepy-Time McClain is awake and the first one here gets first dibs on the hugs!”

Lance swore he heard something smash.

Keith was there about two seconds later, panting, standing in the doorway for a split second. Like this wasn’t quite real. Lance was still confused an unbelievable amount, he blinked, before rubbing at his eyes.

He looked as exhausted as Lance felt, the bags under his eyes would be considered too large for carry-on luggage and somehow his hair looked even worse than usual. How, Lance didn’t know.

“Lance,” Keith whispered, and he said it in a way like how most would speak about a god or the universe, and then ran at Lance and flung his arms around his neck.

It was warm and so comforting that Lance’s eyes fluttered closed and he relaxed. Every muscle in his body was screaming, to shut down and go to sleep forever. So he closed his eyes, humming into Keith’s shoulders as he slipped off into another sleep.

This time, the dreams were nice and warm. And the only red was the colour of the flowers.

The next time Lance woke up it appeared he was the first. Pidge was asleep at a computer, hunched over and her head resting on the table that the computer was resting on. Shiro and Hunk were asleep in chairs next to the bed.

Shiro’s arms were crossed and Hunk was leaning on Shiro as he snored. He looked around a little bit more, Allura was asleep in the hospital bed next to him and Coran on the one further down.

Keith, Keith was the funniest. He was curled up at the end of the bed and the second Lance moved a fraction he sat up. His eyes seemed like they were glowing… again. He really didn’t seem like he was doing a great job at hiding the fact he was Galra.

He stretched and Lance swore something cracked before smiling at Lance, lazily, like it was the easiest thing he had ever done and Lance smiled back at him.

“You were asleep at the end of my bed.”

Keith just shrugged, before launching himself at Lance and hugging him. His arms around Lance’s neck and his forehead pressing into Keith’s collarbone, and if Keith started shaking and there were tears landing on Lance’s skin he didn’t say anything about it.

Instead he held Keith closer, hugging him. If the world was ending Lance wouldn’t move, he’d just hug Keith tighter as everything fell down around them. It was soft, and it was something that Lance wouldn’t imagine doing even a few months ago.

Hugging someone like this… it was so intimate, but Lance couldn’t find it within himself to care and just hugged Keith until Keith wriggled out of Lance’s arms.

He sat up and glared at Lance before punching him in the shoulder. Once, then twice then once more for good measure. “That’s for scaring me.” He punched once more, “That’s for freaking everyone out.”

Then once more, “And that’s for the bowl I dropped.”

Lance laughed, he laughed so loudly he woke up everyone else in the room and was quickly surrounded by warmth and hugs. He’d never felt so at home, so far away from home, so melted into the hugs. It was warm and so smothering Lance didn’t want them to stop hugging him.

It was nice, being worried over.

It meant that people cared and if Lance didn't know it before, he knew it now with every thump of his heart and every breath that he took. They cared about him. Fully and completely and without reason to.

Which, kinda seemed like a family to him.

* * *

“Wait…” Lance said, looking at Keith, “You cried.”

“What? No I didn’t.”

“Yeah you did, you were all like ‘I care about you, wake up sharpshooter’ and you cried,” Lance pointed at Keith with his spoon. “I knew you cared about me.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t,” Lance sung and Keith glared.

“I’m throwing you out of the airlock.” Keith muttered, but his words had no heat behind them, infact Lance would bet his entire existence that Keith was smiling as he said it.

**Author's Note:**

> So, some of y'all are freaked out about the Spanish singing. And good for you, but it's fine. Think about when the singing started and that's like probably your answer.
> 
> I'm gearing up for a big fic, maybe 2—3 chapters. So currently I am mentally preparing for that. The next part will be posted soon and then there's going to be a bit of a break. Hopefully not too long, maybe a few days to a week?


End file.
